Chocolate & Cranberry Loaf

I was reading the chocolate bread recipe in MC’s blog Farine, which reminded me I could make it for allergy kid. In Gregoire’s bread book, La Boulangerie Baking at Home he has a recipe for a Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread and I used that recipe to create my own here. This is made as a hybrid but would work equally well as a yeast loaf as in Gregoire’s version.

I used dark chocolate broken into chunks but would suggest to add your favourite chocolate and if that’s milk chocolate then add it, you’ll enjoy the bread more.

This loaf for me is perfect eaten warm from the oven because the crumb is at its super lightest and goes perfectly with salted butter melting, the very trendy combination of chocolate and salt.

To explain how much the oldest daughter loved this bread after having 2 slices she came up to me gave me a big hug, and for the first time in her 17 years of living said, “mum, you’re amazing!”. I need to make a record of this as it may not happen again for another 17 years.

Chocolate & Cranberry Bread

I like the tanginess of the dried cranberries in here adding a lovely fruity contrast to the richness of the chocolate.

220g levain (white flour levain 100% hydration)

400g white bread flour

100g high extraction flour (you could use wholemeal and sieve out coarse bran)

10g salt

50g cocoa

1g dried instant yeast (hard to weigh, a large pinch)

350g water (you may have to adjust it and add 20grms or so more if your flour is very absorbent)

35g olive or vegetable oil

Mix all of these ingredients together.

To add after mixing:

70g dried cranberries

130g dark or milk chocolate

With Gregoire’s permission his recipe is:

700g T65 flour

125g rye flour

70g cocoa powder

60g butter

12g dry yeast

28g salt

620g water

190g dark chic chunks

140g frozen sour cherries

Mix the first bunch of ingredients together (hold back the cherries and chocolate) until you have an amalgamated dough. Leave to rest for 30 mins at room temperature.

Fold in the chocolate chunks and cranberries. Leave it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Fold again, it may not need this second fold, depending on your flour, rest again for another 20 minutes.

Shape the dough and let it rise. You only need to let rise long enough to notice an increase in size. Depending on temperature it can take a couple of hours in cool temperature or 30 minutes in very warm weather.

You can put in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning.

Pre-heat oven to 200C fan / 220C for 40mins with an empty metal roasting tray on floor of oven to heat up.

When oven is hot add pint/500ml or so of water to the now hot metal tray let water heat up another 10mins.

Sprinkle dusting of flour over dough, score it and bake for 40-45mins.